Saving Harmon Rabb Jr
by NatalyaShae
Summary: Harm has been a POW for about a week and a half now. From being tortured for America's secrets and lack of food, Harm believes he's seeing hallucinations of Mac talking to him. Mac2, promises that he'll soon be home. After being rescued, he's diagnosed with PTSD causing him to fear Mac will leave him, but what happened when Mac reveals that she WAS there with him when he was a POW?
1. Chapter 1

_**SAVING HARMON RABB JR.**_

Harm felt his head being jerked up by his hair before he even opened his eyes only to be blinded by a light. He managed to squint and see decently. He was still in his cell but now there were three guys in there with him. One was holding a camera, another was walking towards him with a machete while the last one was the one holding him up by his hair. The only thing he had on was his BDU pants and they looked and smelled like…shit.

His arms fell to his side after he tried to struggle. He felt his body slump at odd angles, not able to keep his own body upright. He groaned lowly as the man was forced to re grip him by his neck, which was a bit more painful. He watched as the guy with the machete came and stood by him holding the machete to his neck that was being used to hold him up. Harm looked towards the camera for a brief second before lowering his gaze, the light from it hurt his eyes and he hadn't seen light for about four days now. He heard them speaking to each other before it the one holding the machete to his neck started to read from a piece of paper, probably demands. Harm closed his eyes unable to keep them open any longer. He could still hear, he hadn't fallen asleep. He wished he did though. He heard the voice die out before a yell and an agonizing pain erupted from his shoulder down towards his waist line. Despite not having energy, he let a scream of pain escape him. The man holding him shoved him into the dirt floor. Harm could feel his blood pooling around him, but he couldn't move! The man with the machete had slashed him across his chest. The three men seemed satisfied, even as they zoomed in on him with the camera. Harm realized that they were probably live because the man started to talk again, rather too quickly if it was just a tape. With this in mind, he started to tap the floor with Morse code. He tapped as much information as he could, what he saw, who he saw and the terrain and location points he knew of before he was being dragged back to his cell. Harm couldn't help but smile as the cell shut with a few medical supplies he could use to clean and dress his new wound; a cup of water and a rag. He'll confess though, he did drink about ¾ of the water.

Harm leaned against the wall. He had cuffs on his wrist and ankles, restricting his movement in his own cell. It's been another week since the video. He didn't know if he was going to be saved or not. He supposed he should be depressed but all he had to do was think about Mac. He swore he saw her a few times, though now he thinks it was just him hallucinating. Each time she was different. She would speak to him, first time it happened he thought he finally cracked without knowing it! It was always 'we're looking for you Harm, can you tell me anything else?' stuff like that, quizzing him about what he saw, what his condition was. The last time he couldn't help but snort and reply 'I'm talking to you aren't I?' Admittedly that could be taken the wrong way, three wrong ways. He could be saying it as in 'I've lost my mind and now I see my best friend who said never in Paraguay', or 'I don't want to talk to you but here I am', and lastly but his favorite 'I'm a prisoner of war, being tortured and you're asking me what my condition is'. Harm frowned, now that he thought about it, they were all kind of true. The only reason why he didn't want to talk to Mac was because she was the one person he's ever fully loved. His mother…well there were times in his childhood that he hated her for not only giving up on his dad but for remarrying. Whereas with Mac, even if they were fighting he never stopped loving her. Harm snorted, he just finally admitted to himself that he loves his best friend and all it took was to be tortured. One could even joke that it was tortured out of him. Now all he had to do was…

"Harm" A voice in the corner of his cell spoke warily. Oh, he was hallucinating again…

"Hello fragment of my mind that takes on the image of my best friend" Harm replied barely above a whisper, his voice was hoarse due to either screaming or not talking. Harm watched as 'Mac' let out a breath she's been holding. He already told this 'Mac' exactly what he thought of her, much to the amusement of this 'Mac'.

"I'm sorry I haven't checked up on you sooner" Mac2 said. Harm raised an eyebrow.

"Does this mean that I'll soon lose my sanity completely?" Harm asked moving his shackled arm so that he could rest his head on it. Mac2 noticed the chains and grew worried. Harm frowned.

"Th-those weren't there before!" Mac stuttered. Harm chuckled, he's never hear Mac or this 'Mac' stutter before, it was cute.

"Indeed. I doubt they enjoyed my escape attempt. They had been giving me an abundant amount of water with a rag. Pretty much I washed my sweat off. I stole other stuff from the guards without them knowing. Turns out Bud was right, you can kill a video camera with sweaty water and batteries." Harm explained. Mac2 starred at him with a shock expression but also worry.

"You tried to escape!?" Mac2 yelled, though Harm noticed that no echo followed, furthering his believe that he was losing his sanity. Harm shrugged as best he could with an injured shoulder.

"Wasn't the first and probably won't be the last" Harm said seriously. Mac2 looked a little frantic.

"Don't say anything! The marines have a lead as to where you might be…we're just waiting for SecNav to approve it before we go in" Mac2 said biting her lip. Harm starred at her for a moment before smiling his 'flyboy' smile.

"Awe Mac, I didn't know you cared" Harm said teasingly trying to cover up the fact that his hope was renewed and now he was anxious. Mac2 smiled at him.

Before either could say anything else a door opening filled their ears. Mac looked angry and worried but when she looked at Harm she saw that he looked calm, but she knew he was scared. Harm looked at Mac2 and smiled.

"Hey, just in case I don't make it…I- I love you Sarah" Harm said right before three came into his cell. Harm didn't bother looking back over his shoulder when he was being dragged out of the cell. He said what he wanted to say, even if it was to a hallucination.

To Be Continued…

A/N I haven't actually seen Paraguay, nor do I know if they actually get together. I have been told two different endings which tick me off. Either one of them resigns their commission and they get married…..OR…. They both accept their promotions and say good bye….WHICH IS IT?!


	2. Thoughts before the mission

Harm laid in his looking at the wall. For the past three hours he's been electrocuted by a battery. He would have thought that they'd come up with something better to use than a car battery, after all, if they could afford this ware house then why not buy a rod (the thing that looks like a baton but pretty much electrocutes you) or a Taser? For what it's worth though, he did ask, it only made the big mean men madder. When he was first brought into the other room for… 'Questioning' it had started out pleasant enough though. He'd been given food, good food. He must've looked like a starved dog though, but he didn't care. Yes, the big mean men laughed at him when he guarded the plate like a starved dog but hey, he had the last laugh when he didn't answer any of their questions.

He remembered being told by a news reported how stupid these 'cave' men were. In reality however, he encountered some highly intelligent men. It should be pointed out though that when Neanderthals, Humans and the other type of evolving human co-existed (this is actually true, I read this in a sociology and geography school book) middle easterners were the first to use medals (like a black smith). They stared with simple questions, questions that didn't seem to matter if answered, and twisting their words in such a way that it seemed harmless to answer. Of course his standard response was his name, rank, I.D social. It was basic psychology, sort of, really…who says when their kids 'I want to grow up to torture Americans'? When that method didn't work, the intelligent men, two that he knew of, tried to play with his morals and values. Pretty much feeding him a bunch of crap about how they and Americans were alike, and they gave reasons, most of which he agreed with them on. After about two days of that not working they did the next best thing, well not really best for him; they put a collar around his neck, hooked it to a leash and walked him around on that. They even went so far as to try and teach him 'tricks'. When they said sit, he stood, making them force him to sit by kicking his knees until he fell into a kneeling position. Roll over, he ignored them, making them kick him until he tried to roll away from them, from the pain. Play dead, well that wasn't too hard, after all, all they had to do was knock him out when he just stayed where he was. Speak was their favorite, in his opinion, well besides 'sit'. Hit him In the right spot and he yelped or screamed or moaned, that was 'speak'.

Harm shifted so that he laid on the floor in a fetal position; why fetal? He didn't know, it just became a habit, maybe it was because he felt safer in that position? The last time he saw Mac2 was three days ago. Harm closed his eyes as tears formed in them. He always though he'd be able to tell her how he felt, that they would be together. He thought he had a tomorrow, that he had time. It really was stupid to think like that though, he should know! His father left them without being able to say good bye! Maybe his family was cursed or something? His great grandfather was captured by Koreans, tortured for days before being killed, his father and POW for many years before dying, and now him…Why can't he have a peaceful life with the woman he loves? Harm smiled as a thought went through his head, 'She's a Marine'.

…

Gunnery Sargent Victor Galindez frowned slightly. He and his men along with two other squads were going to a location where his informant had kindly given to him after he was 'politely' asked where the American soldier was being held. However, this wasn't the reason why he frowned. The reason was, was that not only was this American soldier being a POW, but that it was his friend, Commander Harmon Rabb jr. A man that, although knew he was superior and smarter than most, he treated everyone equal, including the enlisted. Imagine, a Naval Officer of Commander rank with an air of arrogance treating enlisted men and woman equally…Gunny shook his head, he needed to focus. Right now, with the Colonel in the Humvee, it was super important if he didn't want to wind up dead.

Colonel Sarah Mackenzie religiously relayed the information she got from 'visiting' Harm to Admiral AJ Chegwidden who in turned informed the SecNav. Everything Harm said, the way he acted, what his conditioned seemed to be, everything except what Harm had merely whispered to her, something he thought was a figment of his imagination. Those simple three words followed by her first name, made her heart beat a drums. It gave her the greatest of hopes but as well the greatest of pain. Harm could be dead by now, he could have been tortured to death and if he wasn't, he was going to have a lot to overcome. Of course, she'd be there for him, she loved him! She needed to focus. She knew Gunny didn't want her coming…not because she was female but because he knew how much Harm meant to her and if he was dead…FOCUS MARINE!

Admiral AJ Chegwidden, the Secretary of the Navy watched the screen that resided in the corner of the Admirals office. They were watching, rather intently, a feed that was streaming live from Gunny's helmet. The mission that had been approved came from higher up than the SecNav, it had to be approved by the President himself (President Clinton) who was also being briefed of the mission as is was carried out. The President had immediately approved the rescue of a man who had, years earlier, been accused of defacing the man and if that didn't call for a good president than neither men knew what did! AJ had to admit though, he was worried for not only his men (this includes Mac) but as well for the condition they might find Harm in. AJ poured himself and the SecNav a drink of bourbon, which was gladly accepted.

…

SNEAK PEAK:

Harm opened his eyes when he heard his cell door opening. He tried to sit up a little but all he managed to do was lift his head part way before he collapsed to the ground again. As the light hit him, Harm shielded his eyes as best as he could with his shackled hands, the really hurt his eyes! He felt a gentle hand touch him, but he shied away from it out of fear. He heard a sob echo his cell, he squinted through the light an saw her…He saw his Marine. She was crying…he looked at the others that were in his cell, he saw Gunny, who had on a camera of some sort. He noticed two others but he didn't recognize them. He turned back to Mac who was still crying, looking at him as if he'd vanish. He weakly made his arm rise to her face and gently wiped away a stray tear before he smiled.

"Love you" Harm managed to whisper before he let the darkness pull him in. He faintly heard Mac scream his name, he heard Gunny yelling for the medic they brought, and if he had been conscious for a few more seconds, he would have heard her tell him that she loved him too.

~_0 Hopefully I'll upload soon!


	3. The rescue

_**I come in peace, I didn't bring artillery. But I am pleading with you with tears in my eyes: If you fuck with me, I'll kill you all.**_

Marine General James Mattis, to Iraqi tribal leaders

_**For in this modern world, the instruments of warfare are not solely for waging war. Far more importantly, they are the means for controlling peace. Naval officers must therefore understand not only how to fight a war, but how to use the tremendous power which they operate to sustain a world of liberty and justice, without unleashing the powerful instruments of destruction and chaos that they have at their command."**_

Admiral Arleigh Burke**, **CNO**, **1 August 1961, when changing commands.

….

MAC POV:

We drove in the Humvee for what seemed like hours. The convoy kept a good distance in between just in case one of them drove over an IED. Thankfully that hasn't happened so far. The gunner that sat in the straps at the hatch kept having to shoot off in the distance to make the citizens move out of the way. She had flinched the first time but she got used to it. Gunny, Victor Galindez, drove the Humvee, swerving a few times around dead animals and trash, just in case. Things that seemed insignificant had the most meaning for us Americans in a warzone.

"We almost their Gunny?" Mac asked shifting her M-14 that she clenched tightly in her hands. Gunny didn't take his eyes off the road as he answered.

"We'll be their soon, ma'am. I estimate we'll get there in fifteen minutes." Gunny answered. Mac nodded her head. She watched as the others triple checked their weapons and equipment. She didn't need too, she already did it about two hours ago. Technically she wasn't supposed to leave the Humvee, with her being a woman and all.

"Colonel, under the ruled I cannot give you permission to leave the Humvee unless absolutely necessary for you to do so…that being said, remember this, there is no such thing as a female Marine and male marines, only Marines!" General Bishop had told her, which made everyone in the convoy yell a 'Hoorah', what could she say? It was a Marine thing.

…..

Admiral AJ Chegwidden POV:

"Admiral, our ETA is five minutes out, sir. Ranger scout team has determined that there is an estimated of at least 30 or more hostiles on site at any given time" Mac spoke loudly into the com that connected them and the Admiral who wanted updates when she could give them. It was part of the stipulation that the SecNav had demanded when the mission was approved.

"How many are there in the convoy?" SecNav asks. Mac grimaces and shares a look with the Marine sitting across from her. There were only four Armored Humvee's in their convoy, each Humvee could carry five of them…

"Twenty, sir" Mac replies.

"You're outnumbered, Colonel. Perhaps you should-"

"With all due respect sir, we're Marines, if anybody is outnumbered it's them!" Mac snapped.

"Calm down, Colonel. Keep us updated, we'll watch through the video feed. Bring him home Colonel" I tell her.

"Of course, sir. We're Marines, we bring our own home dead or alive" I hear her say before she mutes us on her end. When the mission starts she'll let us listen in again. The SecNav looks at me with a look on his face.

"They are outnumbered AJ" SecNavs says. I sigh, and sit down in one of the chairs in front of the t.v, at the moment it was black because the camera hasn't been turned on yet.

"The Marines were outnumbered in Vietnam when they stormed the beaches, they won there. I believe you are forgetting that the Marines are an elite fighting force. Hell, they're almost Special Forces in their own right. Not only should you have faith in them, but as well as their mission" I tell him. The SecNav looks a little skeptical.

"They raid a place for one man, AJ…they will either lose their lives or get injured and for what? To save one man that may or may not be already dead?!" SecNav raises his voice, unfortunately Bud just walked in with Tiner, Mic and Harriet. Judging from their faced they've had their ears pressed again my door for a few minutes.

"I beg your pardon, sir, but if it's one thing about the American military is that they do return to the battle field to retrieve their fallen comrades, dead or alive!" Mic growls out, his hand fisting. Well, the case with Mic was an interesting one. He loses Mac because he knows that she loves him but still stands to have Rabb's back.

"Not only are that, sir, but those men out there that are risking their lives to save the Commanders are doing so willingly! The mission was a volunteer mission. All of those Marines out their volunteered to go, they weren't ordered." Bud added.

I couldn't help but smile. We may not be in a war zone but these men have the morals of comradely down! I watched as the SecNav opens and closes his mouth, the first time I've ever seen him speechless. He doesn't understand it, he only understands the political view of it.

"What do you three need?" I finally ask. Suddenly all three stand at attention, I already know what they want.

"Sir, Lt. Sims, Lt. Tiner, Commander Brumby and I would like to request permission to watch the video feed with the Admiral, sir" Bud said. I didn't answer for a minute. Would it be wise? After all, they've only seen Rabb at his best, or at least when he's strong.

"Sir, If the Admiral would be so kind, I would like permission to speak freely, sir" Harriet says still standing at attention.

"Granted" I murmur, but she hears me.

"The condition of the Commander, we realize, will be critical and hard to see…but we are his friends and if we can't stand to see him at his weakest, then we have to right to see him at his strongest. Our opinion of the Commander will not falter, if anything it will grow. If the Commander should be found…f-found d-dead, sir, then we will then ask to escort him home, sir" Harriet says strongly. Her words stun me. Tiner, Mic and Bud nod their heads in agreement, their eyes verifying their actions. I sigh, Rabb better not be dead!

"Shut the door, no one else enters!" I growl out.

"Aye aye sir, thank you!" Bud says shutting the door. The SecNav sits down in the chair next to mine.

Suddenly, our attention goes to the t.v as it flickers with sound and visual.

…..

MAC POV:

I lick my lips as we exit the Humvee, the others have stopped not too far behind us. We all have light packs on and vest. We can see the warehouse/ compound from where we've parked. A hill blocks us from their view. We've been told that the Rangers have lent us two sharp shooter teams for this mission, but nobody knows where they are. Gunny just got word from base that we'll have air support if we need it, and a medical chopper has been put on standby if we need it. The USS Patrick Henry just 'happened' to be in the area and has approved any air craft carrier that has Harm or any of them permission to land on his ship. Truth be told, she's never seen three branches of the military work together for one man.

"You ready, ma'am?" Gunny asked. Mac smiles for the first time.

"Gunny, there's a chance that I'm going to die on this mission, so do me a favor and call me Mac" I tell him. A serious look appears on his face.

"I won't let you die, but I will call you Mac, just for this mission though" Gunny tells me.

"Don't worry, Ma'am, it isn't because you're a woman, it's because you're a comrade." A private says seeing the look that crossed my face. I looked over at him, Private David. I look a little sheepish.

"Is everyone ready?" I ask instead. I receive all nods. I was the highest ranking officer here, which made this my mission. I look over at Gunny who looks determined.

"You call the shots Gunny." I say. It was a hard thing to do, give up my control over something I so desperately need to go right, but Gunny has more combat experience than I do, more knowledge of how to handle this mission.

"But Mac your-" Gunny tries but I cut him off.

"You're more experienced than I am Gunny, and these are your men" I tell him. Gunny looks over his men, I can feel them staring at me, I don't know their expressions but I imagine I just earned my six to be guarded. Gunny looks back at me and nods.

"I won't let you down" he says. I shake my head.

"Just don't leave Harm behind, whether he's dead or alive." I tell him. Gunny nods his head.

"Move out" Gunny orders. We all spread out to our positions. Out of the corner of my eye I see Gunny turn the camera on his helmet on.

I see someone with what looks to be an AK-47 start shouting as he fires at us, I shoot his two times before more hostiles appear. I take cover behind a rock. I chance a peek; two hostiles at one o'clock but I don't bother with them, Peters and Jose are already shooting at them. We move forward before being forced to take cover again, we weren't even in the warehouse yet!

I can hear my heart pounding in my chest, but I don't pay attention to it. I'm too busy shooting at them men that probably hurt Harm, this thought make me angry. I don't have time to think about my anger though, I move as fast as I can to take cover behind car. I hear the bullets pass inches by my head. The next things I see is a splash of red covering the brick wall that surrounded the warehouse. The only thought that crossed my mind was 'Rangers'.

Steadily we moved forward, killing hostiles. We've entered the warehouse, there were only several rooms but they were basic. The place must have been set up at last minute. There was no flooring to speak of, just the walls that were reinforced. We split up into teams, the team you rode with was the team you went with.

We came upon our last door. We've seen a room that was covered in blood, both fresh and dry. She had froze but Gunny pointed out that the fresh blood was a good sign. The room had made one of the privates lose whatever was in his stomach, she couldn't blame him. The racked up on the wall. Gunny bashed the lock with the bunt of his rifle before they stormed the room.

….

HARMS POV:

Harm opened his eyes when he heard his cell door opening. He tried to sit up a little but all he managed to do was lift his head part way before he collapsed to the ground again. As the light hit him, Harm shielded his eyes as best as he could with his shackled hands, the really hurt his eyes! He felt a gentle hand touch him, but he shied away from it out of fear. He heard a sob echo his cell, he squinted through the light an saw her…He saw his Marine. She was crying…he looked at the others that were in his cell, he saw Gunny, who had on a camera of some sort. He noticed two others but he didn't recognize them. He turned back to Mac who was still crying, looking at him as if he'd vanish. He weakly made his arm rise to her face and gently wiped away a stray tear before he smiled.

"Love you" Harm managed to whisper before he let the darkness pull him in. He faintly heard Mac scream his name, he heard Gunny yelling for the medic they brought, and if he had been conscious for a few more seconds, he would have heard her tell him that she loved him too.

….

His forced his eyes open. He saw the inside of a helicopter and someone over. He immediately shied away, a little frantic. It hurt to move what little he was able to. He heard a voice urgently telling him something but he couldn't make it out. His vision started to go blurry. The last thing he was the man showing him his patch on his arm, the patch of the American flag. Even as he slid out of consciousness, he felt the tears fall from his eyes as he reached and placed his hand on the medic patch. He didn't see the expressions on the other soldiers faces, but he did feel something wet hit him. (The others teared up)

…..

MAC's POV:

Mac allowed her tears to fall from her face. The helicopter had left a few hours ago. Harm had crashed right when they loaded him onto the medical helicopter. She was sure that under a different circumstance, the guys would have teased her or made snide comments about it, but at the moment it was a pretty solemn mood, even though they saved Harm. Gunny had his men collect evidence and what not. She had offered to help but Gunny said 'no' regardless of her being senior rank. The Ranger team that saved her six a few times never showed up, they were still probably observing.

At the moment, the guys were loading the evidence. Gunny had found some CD's. They had videotaped themselves torturing Harm. She had watched part off one before Gunny had turned it off. At first she thought it was for her sake but when she looked over at the man, he had gone extremely pale. The video had showed Harm in 'that' room, strapped down and being electrocuted, making Harm scream, it was hard to tell because it was nearly gone. The man had asked something in English, but she couldn't remember what it was, but she remembered Harms response. He gave his name, his rank, his date of birth and his social. His voice was practically non-existent; and when he refused to tell them, they had started to beat him and it looked as if they had started to move him onto the floor.(According to the CIA and the military; during Desert Storm, our POW's had been raped, brutally beaten, electrocuted and sleep deprived.) That's when Gunny turned it off. Thank GOD…

…..

Admiral AJ Chegwidden had never felt so relieved in his life. He knew he was crying but so was everyone else side from the SecNav but he looked relieved as well. Hell, even Mic was a bit teary.

Bud hugged his wife. He was so glad that his friend and mentor was alive. He'd be there for him, just like the Commander was there for him when he lost his leg!

Harriet cried into Bud's shirt, she was so grateful to whatever God had answered her prayers.

Mic smiled, he was glad that Harm made it. No man/woman should have to go through what Harm did. He just hoped that Rabb would act on his feelings for his ex-fiancé!

Tiner, for what it's worth, was crying in relief. The man that always treated him fairly and with respect, made it! His mother-

"Oh my God" Tiner immediately said.

"What?" AJ asked.

"The commanders mother, sir, she doesn't know" Tiner said wide eyed. Everyone froze, even the SecNav.

…

Sorry for the cutting it like this but my laptops about to die!


End file.
